


Not Knitting

by pennysparrow



Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics), DCU (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Batfam halloween content war, Gen, Halloween, Halloweentown - Freeform, Knitting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-10 21:36:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16462772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pennysparrow/pseuds/pennysparrow
Summary: Stephanie just wants to finish this hat, is that so much to ask?





	Not Knitting

Stephanie thought that she heard a tap on her window. Except that was impossible, she had the night off and it was a well-known fact that she had a beanie she was knitting for Tim and if she wanted to get it done by Christmas then no one was to disturb her on her nights off. That's when she would do her mountains of homework and then maybe, _maybe_ she would be able to work on it. Maybe. Even then it was unlikely that she would manage any progress. This was her first time knitting and, well, she spent just as much time undoing it as she did messing the darn thing up.

The tap came again, a little more insistent this time and Steph tossed her knitting needles and yarn onto the coffee table. She'd managed to get far enough ahead on homework that she had planned to devote the whole night to knitting. To attempting to knit. It wasn't really going well.

She'd crossed the living room to the window and saw a dark figure perched on her fire escape. Stephanie frowned, they were just far enough in the shadows that she couldn't make out who it was, and Steph preferred to open the window with a tailored insult about unwanted guests. She guessed she'd just have to make do with a general insult about unwanted guests.

"You know that it's much more satisfying to slam the door in someone's face than it is to slam a window?" She had pushed the window open anyway and stood there with her arms crossed, scowling into the dark.

There was a snort as the figure shifted and Steph was able to make out who it was in the light from her living room. "You could've just chosen to ignore me." Jason had ditched the helmet, shoving it under his arm, but was otherwise in full gear and wearing that goofy domino. The melodramatic turd.

"You seemed rather insistent," Steph shrugged. She moved half a step to the side, just enough that he could come in if he wanted.

Jason indeed ducked in through the window, turning to push it close behind him. "Yeah well, the weather finally decided it was fall so it's cold sitting out there."

"You're wearing a leather jacket."

"For the flare, not the function."

Steph rolled her eyes, barely suppressing a smile. "Fine, come warm up for a bit. You know how the kitchen works if you want anything."

"Such hospitality," Jason joked but he was already moving past her to the kitchen.

Steph shook her head and went back to the couch, picking up her knitting again as Jason rummaged around. She was frowning as she tried to count how many she was at, deciding to just undo it all together. It's not like she had a complete row yet anyway.

Jason had shed his – apparently ineffective – jacket and armor by the time he came to settle next to her on the couch. He placed a mug on the coffee table in front of her and blew steam off his own before taking a sip. He studied her over the rim and Steph couldn't tell if her was admiring her fuzzy socks, judging the holes in her sweater and yoga pants, or trying to figure out what she was doing with a pile of yarn. He finally set his own mug down and grabbed up the remote.

"Made hot chocolate, Alfred's recipe. Mind if I watch tv?" he asked.

"Well at this point it's more of a courtesy than a question," Steph smirked. Jason grinned back in acknowledgment and immediately flipped over to her DVR. "Oh please, just go through my guilty pleasure recordings. Why not?"

"Like they're some big secret," Jason shot her a knowing look before motioning towards the hours of Bar Rescue and Below Deck that were filling up the DVR. "You talk about them all the time. 'There's a new episode of Bar Rescue tonight!' 'I get to watch Below Deck as soon as I'm done here so get over yourself and let me arrest you!' 'Ooooh! This place was on Bar Rescue! It obviously didn't help but then again this is Gotham.'" Jason grinned as he mimicked her. She just glared. It was a little _too_ accurate. "Well this one is new," he gestured with the remote to the screen which was showing an episode summary for Jack and Ozzy's World Detour.

"My mom and I watch that together. It's actually really good."

"Huh." Jason snapped a picture of the title on his phone before he went back to scrolling.

"What're you looking for?" she finally asked.

Jason kept scrolling, his mouth twisting to the side. "Halloweentown. I know you have it on here somewhere."

"You ditched patrol just to come watch Halloweentown with me?" Steph asked incredulously.

"I ditched patrol just to watch Halloweentown. I came here because I knew you'd have it," Jason gave her a self-satisfied smirk as he found all four movies sitting ready to be watched.

"Well I feel loved," Steph said dryly. She went back to unknotting her yarn, admittedly not knowing how it got so tangled in the first place.

Jason put the first movie on, picking up his mug again and settling back into the couch. "Well I was right. I made you hot chocolate at least, are you not going to drink it?"

"I will. Eventually."

Jason paused the movie, they hadn't even gotten to Marnie sassing her mom yet. "What exactly are you doing? Trying to strangle yourself?" Jason gestured at the yarn that was now wrapped around Steph's ankles.

"I'm knitting," she said primly.

"No. You're not." Jason smirked. "You're _knot_ ting."

Steph froze, fixing him with a deadpan face. "Leave. Now. Out of my house."

Jason laughed. "C'mon! That wasn't bad! Dick's are so much worse. That was funny!"

"Is your name Dick Grayson?"

"No, but-"

"Does it look like I'm in the mood for puns?"

"Well-"

"Were you even invited here?"

"Definitely not," he laughed.

"Then why are you still on my couch?" Steph tried to cross her arms in a huff except her yarn had ended up tangled around her wrists somehow too and it didn't end well. Jason burst out laughing.

"Wait," he gasped as he tried to recover, "aren't you supposed to be making the replacement a hat or something?"

"That is the plan. The execution has been... Iffy is a really good word?" Steph cringed.

"You know I do know how to knit. I can help you," Jason told her seriously.

"How do _you_ know how to knit?"

"Alfred. How else?"

"Youtube?" That was how Steph had been trying to learn at least. Obviously, the results may vary.

"Oh, you have to be kidding me. Come here," Jason sighed. He started helping her to free herself from the mess she had made; luckily the knitting needles were resting on the table, so Steph didn't run the risk of stabbing herself. They'd finally freed her, and Jason confiscated the yarn from her. "We're going to watch Halloweentown while I fix this mess and then I'm teaching how to actually knit. Drink your cocoa."

Stephanie giggled but obliged, picking up the mug and taking a cautious sip. It was hot but not scalding and just as good as Alfred's. Jason had started the movie again and Steph found herself humming along to the upbeat music. By the time Marnie was getting her first broom Jason had created a neat ball out of her yarn and was handing it back to her. They skipped the second one, because it just wasn't as good, and by the time that Ethan was confronting his dad for being a bigoted jerk Jason had helped Steph get about a quarter of the way done, without having to keep undoing it.

They finished the fourth one and the hat was nearly done. Jason frowned, glancing between the hat and the credits on the screen. "I guess we can go back and do Kalabar's Revenge. Since I'm going to watch you finish this. The last thing I need is to leave and for you to muck it up in the home stretch."

Steph raised an eyebrow. "Muck it up?"

"Autocorrect."

She snorted, and Jason put the second movie on. He got up and made them both a fifth mug of hot chocolate, and third that he had spiked, before sitting next to her again. He finished it off for her and snipped the thread after Steph passed him scissors.

"Ta-da," Jason tossed her the finished beanie.

She grinned at him, tugging it on and twisting her head this way and that. "How does it look?"

"Tim's gonna love it," Jason smiled. Steph grinned back and impulsively pulled him in for a hug. "Hey, hey, hey. No no. No. Let go-" he squawked.

"Thanks Jason. This was fun."

He'd finally relaxed, or at least stopped actively trying to fight her off and instead just accepted his fate. "Yeah well, I like Halloweentown."

"How do you feel about Twitches? And leg warmers?"

"Cass?"

"Yup. Was planning on next year for her but with your help..." Steph trailed off. She released Jason and gave him a hopeful grin.

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll be here first thing Saturday with my own projects. After Twitches we're doing Hocus Pocus and then Sweeney Todd and then the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina."

Steph smiled. "Just use the door and you've got yourself a deal."

Jason snorted and stood. He gathered up his gear and made a beeline for the window. "This was fun Steph. You may have just earned yourself a scarf."

Steph was left sitting on her couch grinning after him as he disappeared back out the window. The movie was still playing, and her mom found her asleep in the same position the next morning.


End file.
